Mid Season Moving

[Swede]

Some people have a very short amount of time to hunt, so they really have only one shot at it. For them as Elvis would sing, It's Now Or Never." Some of us are more fortunate in that we have more season. If you have more than just a few days to hunt, what would motivate you to take a day off and move miles away to a new area? What conditions would drive you out, and what would you need to decide the other place is better?
If you are a short season hunter, what would cause you to change areas the next year?

[TennMatt]

This past year I was motivated to relocate after setting up a backcountry camp and seeing absolutely no signs of animals the first weekend... Earlier in the fall I dreamed up this cockamamie bullshit plan to bike up a gated road and camp at the wilderness boundary... It was dumb.

I returned to the house, looked at the previous year's harvest data and went back to the woods in a different part of Colorado and literally was in elk the first morning at my new camp.

I want to be where the elk are. That will motivate me to change locations.

Matt

[elkstalker]

Weather... if snow/mud make roads inaccessible I'll move, I'm not big on tearing up roads or risking my life on nasty roads.
Cows/sheep... it may not sound like a big deal, but 500 cows on a forest grazing allotment, or a big herd of sheep with a sheepherder moving them daily will definitely push elk out of an area. It may not push them far, but in this case I'm at least moving outside of the area the stock is in.
No elk... this rarely happens because of the amount of off-season scouting I do, but sometimes the elk just aren't in an area... I have limited time and want to make the most of it so if they're not there, I'm not.

[Indian Summer]

For me it can be a no brainer. One unit I hunt has a gun opener in September. That’s awesome right! A nearby unit opens October 15th. So Ill hunt the one unit then if I don’t have success Ill pack up on the 13th and go reset camp. Go up and glass the evening of the 14th then hunt the 1st day there which is always productive.

The other reason I’ll make a move is if we’ve killed a bull then stomped all over with the horses to pack it out. At that point we’ve run any other elk out so I’ll hunt elsewhere for at least 4 days before coming back.

[Swede]

Cows/sheep... it may not sound like a big deal, but 500 cows on a forest grazing allotment, or a big herd of sheep with a sheepherder moving them daily will definitely push elk out of an area.

AMEN! That is what I am dealing with every year, and it is a major problem. Well before the cattle are removed from the allotment the grass is eaten down to nothing.

[Roosiebull]

Sometimes it's as simple as a change in scenery, starting over fresh, new spot, new optimism, new spots hold mystery, while a spot you have been beating up may not.

[Lefty]

In the past Ive had Friday night all day Saturday, Labor day and generally one other day to hunt. 5 or 6 days. Ive moved when others have come into the area,.. Obvious signs of others hunting ATV and vehicle traffic they shouldnt be. Coming across a grizzle,.. , sheep are a good reason. This year one hunt the snow was too much. The wrong wind , a blown elk encounter ( with a herd).
A few years back we had too much rain in the desert, flooded and washed out roads.
The unit we hunt is fairly big, We sort of have 5 separate areas to hunt. The one area once we start we are sort of committed by distance and elevation. The other we can walk in hunt back out drive 30 minutes and walk into another area.